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CITY STUDY URGES 'DRAMATIC' STEPS TO LIMIT TRAFFIC

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New York City's Transportation Commissioner said yesterday that current methods of controlling traffic congestion had failed and ''dramatic'' steps were needed if the city was to meet Federal clean-air requirements.

The Commissioner, Ross Sandler, suggested a ''menu'' of programs that the city could begin to combat the problem. Some are new ideas; others have been under discussion for more than a decade.

In a 23-page report, Mr. Sandler, said that without such measures, traffic would continue to worsen, and by the 1990's could reach the levels that came with the 1980 transit strike.

* Imposing a staggered system of restrictions by, for example, refusing to allow cars with licenses ending in the numbers 1 or 2 in midtown on Mondays, 2 or 3 on Tuesdays, and so on.

* Restricting the number of buses, taxis, passenger vans and other vehicles that frequently stop, idle at curbs and travel many miles in midtown.

* Increasing or establishing tolls on bridges into Manhattan.

''We have to move to dramatic controls to insure mobility and air quality,'' Mr. Sandler said.

In releasing the report, Mayor Koch said public hearings on the subject would be held at City Hall on Oct. 27 and 28.

''I believe that we have to take the most difficult actions, and soon,'' the Mayor said in a statement, ''to address two major transportation problems: traffic congestion and the environmental pollution resulting therefrom.''

Before they could go into effect, many of the measures suggested in the report would require approval by the State Legislature. One measure on the list - restricting vehicles with only one occupant from entering Manhattan -has been proposed by the Koch administration before and rejected in Albany.

Some of the remedies suggested yesterday were proposed as early as 1973. The city then discussed eventually putting tolls on the East River and Harlem River bridges and even banning cars south of 60th Street in Manhattan. 'Acute Indigestion'

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Most of the items in the report drew criticism from motorists' associations. Bob Lavner, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of New York, rejected Mr. Sandler's suggestions, saying they would ''give motorists, and New Yorkers generally, acute indigestion.''

''Inaccessibility to the heart of New York can't be turned into a solution,'' Mr. Lavner said. In his report, Mr. Sandler did not endorse any specific proposals or combination of proposals, noting that he had not completed his evaluation of them.

But he said that unless new measures were adopted within the next year, the city would be unable to comply with a Dec. 31, 1987, deadline for meeting Federal air-quality standards.

Under the Federal Clean Air Act, the city must eliminate carbon monoxide ''hot spots'' by that date. Violations could trigger court actions and the loss of more than $300 million in Federal highway aid, he said. Pressing Economic Factors

Mr. Sandler said in his report that there were also pressing economic reasons to improve the city's traffic patterns, since the congestion could discourage businesses from coming to New York or from staying in the area.

''The current laissez-faire policy has run its course, and its deficiencies are more and more evident,'' the report said.

The report rejected several of the suggestions made most often by groups representing motorists to deal with traffic problems.

Mr. Sandler said in the report that additional garages would not be a solution because finding suitable property was a ''remote'' possibility.

He also rejected plans to enforce traffic laws more strictly, saying that ''further reductions in illegal parking require great investment'' and would not solve hard-core air-quality problems.

He added that park-and-ride sites would not be a solution because the areas on the periphery of Manhattan near transit were already well developed.

A version of this article appears in print on September 9, 1986, on Page A00001 of the National edition with the headline: CITY STUDY URGES 'DRAMATIC' STEPS TO LIMIT TRAFFIC. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe